The city of Richmond removes monuments in memory of the Confederate army

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The city of Richmond, Virginia, will remove the monuments in memory of the Confederate army installed in the former capital of southern slavery during the American Civil War, the mayor, Levar Stoney, announced on Wednesday.

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Levar Stoney " has ordered the immediate removal of many statues in the city, including Confederate statues  ," considered by critics to be symbols of the racist heritage of the United States, according to a city hall statement  . The most symbolic is that of the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Army, General Robert E. Lee, who has been enthroned for a century in a town square.

Municipal employees were busy this Wednesday afternoon to remove a statue of a senior southern official from its pedestal, according to local media. Levar Stoney justified his decision by the need to “  turn the page  ” on the past for the city.

"  Since the official end of the status of capital of the confederation 155 years ago, we have been burdened by this heritage,  " he said in a video message posted on Twitter. "  By removing them, we can start to heal and focus our attention on the future,  " he said.

It's time for the healing to start. For public safety, for our history, for our future - the monuments to the Lost Cause are coming down. https://t.co/1QYGxxaZPX

Mississippi withdraws Confederate flag

Mississippi also followed the same example this Wednesday by removing the flag with the Confederate symbol of its capitol, a historic moment for this American state marked by the wounds of the period of slavery.

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After 126 years, the flag was lowered for the last time, to applause. Two other flags were also removed, folded and handed over to the authorities during a brief ceremony. It included the standard - red background, blue cross diagonally with white stars - which represented the Southern States, opposed to the abolition of slavery, during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

The death in recent months of several African-Americans killed by white police has sparked a historic movement of anger and revived the sensitive debate on the legacy of the country's slave past, symbolized by these monuments that demonstrators tried to put down almost everywhere in the territory, especially in Richmond.

(With AFP)

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• United States
• Racism
• History